Steam-separator.



No. 677,52l. Patented July 2, l90l.

J. E. LEWIS.

STEAM SEPABATOB.

[Application filed. Apr. 17, 1901.)

(No Model.)

NlTED STATES ATENT rrrca.

JOSEPH E. LEIVIS, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE IVHIT- LOCKCOIL PIPE COMPANY, OF ELMW'OOD, VEST HARTFORD, CONNECTI- CUT.

STEAM-SEPARATOR.

TEEGIYEIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 677,521, dated July 2,1901.

Application filed April 17, 1901. Serial No. 56,294. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it ntrtg concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH E. LEWIS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSteam-Separators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a horizontal steamseparator which has acentral bafile-plate with ribs forming pockets for collecting moistureby direct impact and peripheral ribs forming pockets for collectingmoisture thrown oil by centrifugal action as the steam passes around thebathe-plate.

The object of the invention is to provide a compact, durable, andefficient separator which can be cheaply constructed, will beself-cleaning and will not effect any appreciable reduction ofsteam-pressure.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a horizontal section of aseparator that embodies the invention, the section being taken on theplane indicated by the broken line 1 1 on Fig. 2; and Fig. 2 shows avertical section of the same separator, taken on the plane indicated bythe line 2 2 on Fig. 1.

In the separator illustrated the cylindrical shell 3, with the flangedsteam-inlet 4 and flanged steam-outlet 5 at the upper end and threadedoutlet 6 for the entrained liquid at the lower end, is cast of iron inasingle piece. Abridge 7, cast integral with the shell, divides thesteam-chamber 8 from the liquid-well 9. This bridge, which is lowest atthe middle, extends from below the steam-inlet to below thesteam-outlet. It is not quite as wide as the shell, and therefore doesnot completely separate the steam-chamber above from the well below.

In front of the steam-inlet and extending from the middle of the bridgeto the top of the steam-chamber is an integral baffle-plate 10, andprojecting from the battle-plate both toward the steam-inlet and towardthe steam- 5 outlet are ribs 11. These ribs, which extend from thebridge to the top of the steam-chamber, vary in width, those at themiddle being the widest and those at the outside being the narrowest.Openings 12, either round or rec- 5'0 tangular, are made through thelowest part of the bridge each side of the baffle-plate at the bottom ofthe pockets formed by the baffle-plate and the ribs in front of thesteam inlet and outlet.

Projecting inwardly from the side walls of the shell and extending fromthe level of the bridge to the top of the steam-chamber are ribs 13,arranged to form radial pockets between them.

Liquid entering the separator with the steam first strikes thebattle-plate and is deposited in the pockets, while the steam passesaround the edges of the battle-plate. The liquid thus deposited runsdown the plate between the ribs and drips through'tlreopem ings in thebridge at the bottom of the pockets into the well below. Any moisturethat remains in the steam after the first impact with the bathe-plate isthrown off centrifugally as the steam passes around the edges of thebaffle-plate and is caught in the pockets between theinwardly-projecting ribs on the side walls of the shell. Liquidcollected in these radial pockets runs down the side of the shell intothe well.

This separator is very etficient,for the steam is subjected to theaction of the baffle-plate pockets and then to the action of theradiallyarranged peripheral pockets. This separates all heavy matter andmoisture, leaving the steam to flow through the outlet very dry. Thepockets in front of the steam-inlet, that receive the direct impingementof the liquid as it enters the separator, are of such depth that theliquid will not spatter back into the current of the steam, and thepockets on the sides of the steam-chamber will collect and retain anyheavy matter that is carried with the steam around the edges of thebattle-plate. The steam flows through the upper part of this separatorquite a distance above the precipitated liquid and cannot pick up any ofthe liquid that has been entrained. The outlet for the dry steam isfully protected by the battle-plate and ribs, and yet the passages areof such area that no reduction of pressure results in the separator.

The separator is self-cleaning and cannot become clogged or renderedinoperative by the accumulation of heavy matter. It is compact, so as tobe comparatively light in weight, and it occupies but a small space.

I claim asmy inVention- 1. A steam-separator consisting of a shellhaving a steam-inlet and a steam-outlet near the upper end, and adrip-outlet at the lower end, a bridge less in width than the width ofthe steam-chamber extending across the interior from below thesteam-inlet to below the steam-outlet, a baffle-plate in front of thesteam-inlet and extending from the bridge to the top of thesteam-chamber, ribs projecting from the baffle-plate toward the steaminlet and outlet, openings in the bridge at the bottom of the pocketsbetween the ribs, passages in the steam-chamber around the edges of thebafile-plate, and ribs projecting inwardly from the side walls of theshell toward the battle-plate, substantially as specified.

2. A steam-separator consisting of a shell having a steam-inlet and asteam-outlet near the upper end, and a drip-outlet at the lower end, abridge less in width than the width of the steam-chamber extendingacross the interior from below the steam-inlet to below thesteam-outlet, a bathe-plate in front of the steam-inlet and extendingfrom the bridge to the top of the steamchamber, ribsof different widthprojecting from the baliie-plate toward the steam-inlet and extendingfrom the bridge to the top of the steam-chamber, openings throughthe.bridge at the bottom of the pockets between the ribs, and passagesin the steam-chamber around the edges of the baffle-plates,substantially as specified.

3. A steam-separator consisting of a shell having a steam-inlet and asteam-outlet near the upper end, and a drip-outlet at the lower end, abridge less in width than the width of the steam-chamber extendingacross the interior from below the steam-inlet to below thesteam-outlet, and declining from both sides toward the middle, abaflie-plate in front of the steam-inlet and extending from the lowestpoint of the upper surface of the bridge to the top of thesteam-chamber, ribs projecting from the baffle-plate toward the steaminlet and outlet, openings through the bridge atthe bottom of thepockets between the ribs, and passages in the steam-chamber around theedges of the battle-plate, substantially as specified.

JOSEPH E. LEWlS.

\Vitnesses:

V. R. IIoLooMB, H. R. WILLIAMS.

